


Slipping Past The Mousetrap

by PickleDillo



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gift, OC Writing, Present writing, fanfic of a fanfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-12
Updated: 2015-12-12
Packaged: 2018-05-06 08:28:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5409983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PickleDillo/pseuds/PickleDillo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a fan, gift-writing for Naiku-Haru and using her beloved clone troopers (meshing them with my OCs).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Caged

Her shivers were at intervals after her heartbeats. A beat, the blood would rush, and then her muscles would shake. Another beat, her lekku would twitch, and then another shiver. Togruta were rare slaves, their spatial awareness granted with their montrals made them hard to capture and it was rarer still that they would leave their home planet of Shili, or colonized safe-zones. Here she was, though, chained by her only ankle within an extremely small cage and her arms tied at the small of her back.

The wound at her ankle was getting worse. The more she tugged at it, wiggled her foot, the further the durasteel would eat through her skin. Her once orange-copper skin had started to turn green and yellow around the grip of her restraint. The chain clinked lightly as she shifted, a gentle reminder of her imprisonment, if her bonds behind her back were ever forgotten. The dirt of the cage floor smeared her face and darkened her markings. Her montrals, even the broken one, and lekku had been blackened long ago; the filth had been inescapable with their length as they dragged along the floor.

She couldn’t stand in her cage. They had removed her from the previous one after her fangs had dove deep into the meaty, unarmored arm of a worker. The vicious scar along her shoulder was a furious warning that another lapse in judgment like that would be met with something worse than a shock baton. She licked her lips, but her tongue was stiff and caught on the dry surface of her mouth. They fed her in bowls, small portions that allowed her enough to live, but never enough to regain her strength. They learned better, and weakened her as the days went on; she knew she would only be fed substantially when she was to be sold.

No one wanted a twig-thin slave, after all. She couldn’t refuse to eat or drink. An upsetting fury bubbled in her stomach. She watched the guards pace back and forth from her cage, her side pressed to the frosty floor, her lekku curled uncomfortably around her. She ate like an animal, hissed and bit like a rabid one, and stalked like a hunter. When she escaped, and she _would_ be freed even if it came through madness or sheer luck, she’d make them regret capturing a hunter and not _prey_. It didn’t matter that she only had one good, full length of a leg and the other a fraction just under her knee. She didn’t need her legs to be quick.

Her hands could do just as good.

The lights of the warehouse were dim, or her eyesight had started to fail her, she wasn’t sure. She relied heavily on the reverberations of the room, the strides the guards took, and the hiss of the hydraulics from the durasteel doors, the resonances of these things partially dampened by her missing montral. The cages around her were empty, and the warehouse floor she was in even more so. Imaginably, she had been left alone to keep her from inciting a rebellion of some sort. One Togruta was dangerous enough if left uncaptured, but a handful of them? Or perhaps a few devious Twi’leks with their prehensile lekku would have proven more useful. It didn’t matter now, she was alone and guarded with her arms tightly bound up to her elbows. She bared her teeth at a passing guard who stopped to look into her cramped cage.

“You know, you wouldn’t be in there if you just behaved.” The guard chuckled. Her head twitched as her montrals caught the faint click of his joints as he dropped to his haunches. Bad or injured knees, she figured; he wouldn’t run far once she was able to chase. Her chapped lips pulled back and her incisors protruded. There was hardly a need to care what they thought of her, they would treat her like a mindless animal either way. The guard shook his head, “You just won’t cooperate, will you? Stubborn thing.”

She couldn’t see under their visors. Their helmets were thick and she could only see part of his mouth and chin. His neck was covered up with a thick cloth or leather. The rest of him was bundled up just as nicely. That may have been her doing, as well, after the first bite. Her green-eyed gaze never wavered and she stared hard into the visor. The guard’s mouth twitched and he knocked his baton against the bars of her cage as he stood. Her nostrils flared with displeasure at the ringing that swallowed her montrals, but she remained quiet. They would get nothing more from her, not again.

She waited until his shadow disappeared and his footsteps no longer echoed near her before she moved. With effort, she was up against the bars of her cage, her back pressed close so her hands could reach the end of the chain secured to the cage and held her ankle. There had been a trick to the locking mechanism. A twist and turn that released it without the need of a key, something fast and practicable for the guards when they transported their products. There was still a question of getting past the coded lock on her cage as a whole, but for now, this problem was enough.

She could feel the cold links of her chain at the very tips of her fingers. There was only so much bending and twisting her back could do with her arms in the way, and she couldn’t lift her leg without toppling over. She snarled quietly and continued to wiggle and wobble to snag her chain. She had already lost track of time long before she had been placed into this cage, but she couldn’t tell how long it had been between falling asleep against the bars as she worked to free herself, and the sudden, immediate click of the warehouse ventilation panel opening.

There were no voices, but multiple feet. Skittish at the unexpected intrusion, she abandoned her place at the front of her cage and forced herself as far away from the pathway as she could. There was a waft of grease and burnt wires that came with the newcomers and she turned to see if she could spy on their approach, but with another audible click, the lights that beamed overhead were shut down. Darkness engulfed her and with the absence of the light, her eyes closed and her other senses kicked into work. It was three or four, she couldn’t tell, as two of them seemed to have the same trot to their walk. They drew closer and she shifted further away, despite the darkness.

Her chain clinked and she hissed at it.

The footsteps stopped altogether, timed and practiced, and she could pick up the shift of armor and the low hum of blasters. They were soldiers or raiders, then, if they had to come in through other means. She stayed against the icy bars of the far part of her cage when a set of feet advanced. Her eyes opened, but in the blackness of the warehouse, she could only see the faint glint of white and gold armor. Her brow rose in surprise and her gaze soon followed. A light blinked on from the visor of the helmet and she winced away as it shone into her eyes.

“It’s a Togruta. Ray, over here, let’s get the lock open.” The voice was low and precise. Another shift and a second body moved toward her cage. Her lips were pursed and her breathing hitched. Not droids, not raiders, but Republic soldiers. It could be a raid or a reconnaissance mission. The second soldier made it to her cage and with quick fingers he soon had the lock disarmed and the cage door was pulled, but she hissed angrily as her chained foot was dragged along with it.

“Stop, stop!” The second one hissed and his hand snapped out to catch the chain. Her leg hung in the air for a moment longer before the door was lowered again and her limb placed against the floor.

“How did they plan on getting her out, if she’s attached to the door?” The first one asked with the irritation clear in his tone.

“That’s probably to keep her from escaping than for any practicality.” A third one chimed in with disinterest. “Look at the cage she’s in, this is punishment, not preservation.”

“Bastards.” The first one growled and gripped his blaster tighter against his chest.

“Stop, you’re going to upset her.” The second one was quieter than the other two, and carefully he reached into the cage and took up the links of her chain. “Ma’am? I don’t want to pull, can you move toward me?” Soft and sweet to tempt her, but to refuse a chance at freedom was unacceptable. She shifted and inched toward him as the third one wandered off, his blaster held up to his face.

“Get her out quickly, Ray, we don’t have much time. I’ll scout ahead and clear the way.” Soon the ghostly shape of the third was swallowed by the dimness of the warehouse. She couldn’t allow him to trigger an alarm, or to unknowingly notify the guards. Panic raced through her and hastened her heart as she neared the second soldier.

“Tell him to be careful,” her voice was rough with weeks of disuse and croaked as she exhaled. “They patrol at random. It changes every day, the hourly. Your schematics are wrong.” The first and second soldiers with her froze with hesitation and both helmets turned to look her way; the light shining on her from the first. The third set of footsteps further away stopped as well and she sighed with relief. If he had reached the door, it would have been over before it started.

“How do you know what the schematics say?” The second one, Ray, asked quietly from his closest place by the bars of her cage. His hand remained on the chain and she tugged at her only leg, dislodging his fingers as she tried to sit upright in her tiny space.

“I tried to free my friend.” She answered sourly. “I thought their patrols were the same. I memorized them for a day, stalked them, and waited.” She inhaled sharply, her voice a scar within her throat. “But when I came in the next day, just like you, I was caught. The patrols were different. Different times, different lengths. You can watch them for the month, they will always be different.” She never had the same guard twice, their physical bodies always changed, different girths and heights, different smells. Who knew how many were on rotation?

“Kesher.” The first one called out, his helmet turning and the light flashed on the faraway third soldier. The third raised his hand to his helmet and tapped, signaling for the first one who reached up and flicked off his visor’s light.

“I heard.” The third one finally answered. “That changes the game. We don’t have time to go back and warn the others, they’ll be coming up the east wing soon, along with the other entry points. We’ll have to break radio silence.”

“I wouldn’t suggest it.” Ray was back in action, his hands working on the twisting lock that held her partnered to her cage. “We still don’t know if the blackout took out their communications and looped them. The codes are good, but I don’t know if close proximity will be an issue. The readings for this place were vague at best.”

“Then what do you suggest we do? The others will be walking right into a death trap.” Kesher hissed as he quietly trotted back toward her cage. Her gaze flickered between the three soldiers and she wondered how far her trust could be placed within their hands. She sighed and squared her shoulders; to die free would be better than dying caged, or enslaved.

“East wing, you said?” She proposed her question to Ray, her closest, sweetest soldier. His helmet tipped up at her words, though his hands continued to work. “There is a path, one they have under maintenance or reconstruction. We can use it, it will loop you around the far end of the warehouse and you’ll come up under the hangar of the east side.”

“How do you know about that?” Kesher asked as he dropped down by her cage. Ray managed to disarm the lock on her bars and the door to her cage was lifted so he could move in and work on the one around her ankle, muttering to the first soldier that she would need a medic.

“ _I_ caused the damage.” She grinned toothily. “I did not go down without a fight, and released a few grenades. They were talking about it, complaining about the extra five minutes to walk all the way around to the reporting station.”

“Reporting station?” The first one hiccupped. “Kriff – the map is more off than we thought, that’s supposed to be on –”

“I know where it’s supposed to be, Akul.” Kesher snapped as he stood. Her gaze rocketed up to the first soldier, addressed as _Akul_ and she stared. “Ray. Once you get her out of that, slap some bacta on her feet and we’ll take her with us. No use in throwing away a talking map.”

“I don’t think we can take her with us, Kesher.” Ray answered even as he pulled a small wrap of treated bandage and started on her ankle. “And it’s a foot, Kesher. She’s missing her other leg.”

“What?” Both Kesher and Akul surged forward and she tipped back hurriedly, but Ray’s grip tightened slightly and held her in place with a firm gentleness. Their sudden interest in her missing limb didn’t alarm her; the soldier – Akul – was an extreme unknown. Did he know the meaning of his name? Who would take the name of a predatory animal that hunted Togruta? Why!

“It’s not recent,” Ray answered when her silence persisted, assuming perhaps a reluctance on her part. “She’s missing a montral, too, or did we not see that?” The foot was bandaged and covered protectively with a hand as he shifted on his heels to move to her back, cutting through the bindings around her arms.

“I’m useful.” She interjected, unwilling to be cast aside just yet. “They took my prosthetic, it’s in the armory. If I can get to it, you won’t have to worry about me.” Her arms were soon freed and she rolled her shoulders, a deep and searing ache raced through them and her muscles trembled.

“The map’s different; we won’t know where that is now.” Akul sighed. Kesher’s head angrily tipped to one side, and his shoulders hunched for a moment.

“Let’s not just air-out our plans, please.” Kesher reprimanded; his tone a near growl.

“Show me.” She interrupted again. All three heads snapped to her and she marched on, “Show me your map. I can correct it. You’ve opened my cage; there is nothing else you need to do for me.”

“Negative.” Kesher answered immediately. “You can be a spy or an informant. You could be the very reason _why_ our information is faulty. We can’t take that chance. You either stay in this cage or come with us.”

“Kesher, we’re not holding her prisoner, she’s stressed enough as she is.” Akul snapped and shifted to stand in front of her cage. Blocked from view, she turned to look at Ray whose helmet was trained on her, his hand resting lightly on his blaster. She exhaled with a tight huff and held out her hand. Ray paused, but nodded and pulled her up to her good foot and she leaned against his chest and side.

“Guys.” Ray cleared the fight and stepped between them with her glued to his side. “We don’t have time. We don’t know what she is, but she’s our best hope at getting out of here alive. Kesher, if you’re so worried about being betrayed, then… keep her leg. We’ll turn her over to the captain.”

“Agreed.” Akul nodded his helmet, and then hesitated as his visor glanced down to her. “U-uh… do you need help, Ray? You have to unlock the door.” Ray nodded and gently, and with a hand held in hers and one at the small of her back, she was passed off to Akul. She stiffened in Akul’s arms and she could feel the soldier’s shoulders harden under her hold. This would be an awkward walk.

“ _Fine_.” Kesher relented and followed Ray as the sweetest soldier walked off toward the warehouse door. She and Akul followed at a slightly slower pace as she hobbled along. Frustration gnashed annoyingly just under her throat and she sighed and tugged on Akul’s shoulder.

“Pick me up, if you can.” She ordered once his helmet turned toward her. His muscles stiffened as if an electrical shock sped through him and he stopped. She tugged again, harder, “We don’t have time for any social graces. Lift me, I weigh nothing now.” Akul nodded shortly and swiftly moved to step behind her for a moment, bent at his knee, and hauled her up against his chest with ease. She bounced slightly in his arms, the strength he had used had been in excess to what was needed, and she truly weighed nothing without any substantial food for weeks.

“What’s your name?” Akul asked quietly as he walked them toward the other two soldiers.

“… Raasha Ver.” She said with a quiet wariness. “… Why are you called an akul?”

“It’s, uh. It’s a long story.” His nervousness shivered in his words. Her gaze flicked up to his helmet, but it was turned forward. She wondered if she matched his gaze under his visor. His head bobbed as he swallowed and took a stuttering step, shifting awkwardly. “I-it’s nothing b-bad, I promise.”

“Why do you care what I think?” Raasha asked in small surprise. She blinked and her arm tightened around the back of his shoulders for support. “It is a name. Names have multiple meanings… I was just… surprised.” The clone trooper laughed, but it was low and shaky. She tilted her head, a lekku curled between his chest and her stomach, the other swaying near his hand that held her by her ribs.

“T-tell you what.” He started, and she could practically hear the thick swallow he worked through to breath, “W-we get out of here and I’ll t-tell you. Can’t have a damsel th-thinking I’m the villain, right?” Another confused tilt of her head and she assessed the helmet in front of her. She could feel the arms underneath her stiffen as the silence wore on, but she finally grinned.

“Deal. Let’s get me out of here in one piece then, alright?” She agreed lightly and was pleased to feel his limbs under her ribs and legs relax a fraction. His helmet turned toward her slightly.

“Well,” He cleared his throat, “Am I disqualified if we don’t get your leg back?” A rolling snort escaped her and was swiftly followed by a chortle that eased the tension of the trooper further. His shoulders went lax under her arm and his chest softened as he exhaled in relief.

She raised her brow at him with a smirk, “Fine, one piece in regards to how you found me.”

“Ah. That’s fair.” Akul chuckled. They waited patiently as Ray worked on the lock of the warehouse door. The other trooper, Kesher, glanced at them with a tilt of his head, but with a shake of his helmet, he turned his attention back to Ray for a moment before his visor focused on her.

“What’s it going to look like out there, if our map is wrong?” Kesher asked roughly with his blaster tucked into his stomach. She reached up and smoothed a palm over a montral thoughtfully.

“From what I remember, stepping out through here, we’re on the second lowest level.” She tapped her montral and frowned as she looked at the door, as if the image of her previous map would appear through it. “Down the hall and up the stairwell, it breaks into another hallway that goes west and east. The east one is the one I demolished and they have closed off, but it wasn’t so bad that we couldn’t get through it comfortably.”

“To the west?” Kesher prodded with a gentler tone.

“The upper warehouse, if you take the next set of stairs or the lift.” She answered readily. She couldn’t have the troopers doubting her. She was already on thin ice with Kesher, and though being turned over to a sensible captain could possibly benefit her and her friend, she couldn’t trust to that completely. “If you continue down the hall, it takes to the right and you follow that to the west hangar and the incoming shipment facility.”

All three troopers shared a rapid, handful-of-seconds long look between each other in unison. It was almost unnerving to watch how quickly it had passed between them. Ray shook his head as he continued to work on the locking algorithm and Akul sighed near her head. The tension was slowly starting to build back up in the trooper that held her and she glanced up at him, curious.

“Kesher, we can’t –” Akul started, but Kesher nodded his head swiftly.

“I know… I know, Akul. Takeback and Toks are coming up that way, and Denn and Flash are coming down from the west hangar soon.” Kesher turned his visor from his squad-mate and back to her, and Raasha felt her spine zip up with the weight of his covered gaze.

“You said the patrols were randomized, what are the chances of our brothers coming through that hallway alive?” Kesher asked darkly. Raasha tipped her head back far enough that Akul reacted and shifted his hold to adjust to her tipped weigh. Her green eyes danced between them and she shrugged as a bubble of anger in her stomach appeared at having no clear answer and halving her chances of salvation.

“Slim. If they’re coming in from the hangar, then they have a better chance.” She pondered quietly, a lekku twitched near Akul’s fingers by her ribs and he drummed them against her skin in response, reassuring her, perhaps. “They don’t have a shipment coming in; they still have to get rid of us, the ones from a month ago. We’ll be taken to the east hangar when it’s time to be shipped out.”

“Ace and Dulmer,” Akul and Ray chimed in with perfect synchronization.  Kesher sighed and shook his head.

“That’s some of the team accounted for, but what else is near us? Antahni and Patch are coming through the hallway’s ventilation just a few meters from us.” Kesher growled and turned his visor down to Ray, who paused in his work and looked up at his brother.

Raasha perked, “Then that’s good. The hallway will be closed off; they will be met with no resistance. They’ll enter just at the mouth of the barracks, and there’s hardly anyone there, regardless of the time of the rotation.”

“We could have Tahni and Patch come around and support,” Akul added into the silence. He shifted Raasha’s weight again in his arms and glanced between her and Kesher. “If the layout is how I think it is, the armory is close, then, and we’ll be able to keep Takeback, Toks, Flash, _and_ Denn from going nose deep into trouble.”

“For a leg?” Kesher hissed with a shake of his head.

“That leaves Cross and Bull with no back up, though.” Ray interjected as the lock under his hands beeped and released under his fingers. The screen flashed red in a second’s time and then blinked to green. Ray stood and held his hands out for Raasha, his head turned to Kesher. “Ace and Dulmer are the furthest; we wouldn’t get to them in time.”

“I-I can hold her, sh-she’s fine.” Akul gripped her tighter before she could shift to be placed into Ray’s hold. “We still need you if there are other obstacles, and you’re f-faster at it than I am.” There was a heavy silence between the brothers and Raasha frowned at the feel of it. Was there an argument going over her head? She turned her gaze to Akul’s helmet, but again, the visor kept her from gaining anything.

“Alright.” Ray conceded. Kesher placed a finger to his mouthpiece and the brothers fell quiet as the door groaned open. The light from the hallway was bright and blinding; it forced her to turn her face away into the crook of Akul’s neck between his helmet and shoulder. They shifted into the hallway and she peered as best she could from under the shield of her fingers against the light.

“The armory is down the hall, past the stairs to the upper warehouse, forced right, and right again, into the locked double sealed room.” Raasha parroted her information to Kesher quietly, looking under from Akul’s helmet and mindful of her one full montral as the trooper shifted his head away. “The east hallway is closed, but a few meters down is the entrance to the barracks.”

“Kesher?” Ray prompted as the beats of silence dragged on through the seconds.

“The imprisoned people are our priority.” Kesher answered with finality and turned on his heel to go down the east hallway. “Her leg can be replaced… and I trust our brothers to get through any trouble. Ace and Dulmer are furthest. They don’t know what they’re in for, so let’s move.”

“Understood,” Akul and Ray answered once more in unison. Kesher moved forward and took point, with Ray stepping around behind him and Akul to bring up the rear. Raasha peered over Akul’s shoulder and wondered how far they were from the other four who had been mentioned. Though the warehouse was being run on a skeleton crew, the randomized patrols made it extremely dangerous.

Meters down the hallway, it began to curve and a few of the overhead lights flickered as they neared the source of the shortage. The hallway opened wide and cut one way to the left that led into the barracks. As soon as they had come upon the intersection, a maintenance panel was pried off the wall and quietly placed to one side. Two more armored figures appeared, hunched and dusty.

“Kesher?” The voice was female and Raasha’s head swiveled around in surprise. Closer inspection revealed that one of the newly arrived figures was shorter and slightly rounder than the other troopers. Slight, though, and the difference wouldn’t be enough to notice in the heat of battle. The other trooper popped up behind her, blaster at the ready.

“Change of plans, Antahni.” Kesher replied, lowering his blaster.

“Oh, really?” Sarcasm laced her voice and a grin tugged at Raasha’s lips. She would like this one, too. The woman’s helmeted head turned to Raasha and Akul, the frown clear in her voice. “Just one?”

“The map was wrong.” Akul answered bitterly. “It’s a FUBAR, Tahni.”

“ _Osik_ , then let’s get the kriff out of here. Kesher –” The woman turned toward the forward lead and Kesher nodded, reaching into his belt and pulled out a small compact disc for a holo-vid. The map appeared and Raasha winced, their information had been horribly wrong. The layout of the building, the structure, was the same, but the labels of those rooms were incorrect.

“Raasha’s told us that the map is flipped, like this.” A click of his disc and the labels faded out before reappearing, in their correct places. “Crossbar and Bullrush were supposed to come in from our end in what _should have been_ the lower warehouse, instead they’re coming in from the entrance.”

“They’re headed right into the main warehouse. The slaves are there.” The second one with Antahni muttered darkly. “It’s going to be a mess; they were supposed to be the distraction, not the main rescue.”

“Right,” Kesher interrupted. “Which is why we’re heading this way instead, Ace and Dulmer are going to hit the reporting station and be overwhelmed.” Antahni and her partner cursed under their breath and Kesher nodded. “We got to book it. Toks and Takeback should have already come in through their entry point –”

“And we’re leaving them?” Antahni snapped.

“ _No_ ,” Kesher replied hotly. “But they’re skilled enough to reformulate a plan once they realize they’re not where they’re supposed to be. We can’t break radio silence and we’re _wasting_ time standing here and arguing about it!”

“If you can get to the reporting station, you can override their communications manually.” Raasha piped up into the heated space. All helmets snapped to her and she felt the heat of the attention flare across her face. She swallowed and curled closer to Akul. “Through the barracks, there’s a short maintenance passage for the officers to use. It’s what I used to hide while I waited.”

“She must have come in from the roof, then.” Ray speculated with a hum. “If I can get to their mainframe, we can alert the others without alerting the slavers here.”

“Why haven’t we run into anything yet?” Akul directed his question down to her and she tilted her head toward his helmet, a lekku twitching lightly against her stomach.

“It might be a shift change. They’ll come out from the north side of the building from the slave transport, then swing around to the east wing to check on the slaves, and a few strays will be sent down the west side to inspect the rest of the building, before they finally end at my cage.”

“Not much more time, then. Denn and Flash will get the first wave, then Takeback and Toks.”  The one behind Antahni shook his head. “We can’t all go into the reporting station. Kesher, take Akul and Ray with you, hand the girl over, I’ll check her and retreat with Antahni.” He turned to the woman and nodded his helmet. “We can catch up with Bull and Cross, lead them up to Ace, and give them the sitrep.”

“Done and done,” Antahni muttered. “Give her here.” Antahni held out her arms for Raasha and Akul reluctantly handed her over once the woman shouldered her weapon. The woman was less inclined to hold her aloft as Akul had done, but Raasha squeaked in surprised as she was nearly dropped from the other woman’s surprise.  


“Oh, kriff,” Antahni hissed with surprised and gripped Raasha tighter against her armored chest. “Didn’t see the missing leg there, ma’am.”

“Well, that’s good, because it’s been gone for a while.” Raasha joked lightly, wincing as the woman adjusted her grip against Raasha’s ribcage. “I’d be about as surprised as you if it _was_ there.” Antahni chuckled openly at the jab and with a turn, began to retreat down the battered hallway. Antahni waited until her partner was with her and they were further down from the intersection.

“Funny one, isn’t she?” The trooper with Antahni mentioned as the first three troopers disappeared into the hallway that led to the barracks. “Set her down for a second, Tahni, let me just see her good leg.” Antahni stilled and hefted Raasha higher in her hold for the other trooper. His deft fingers inspected the wound under the bacta bandage and huffed.

“How long as it been like this?” He muttered. Raasha assumed it a rhetorical question until his visor tilted up toward her and she hunched. “Well?”

“It started the first week, so… three weeks, now?” Raasha answered with a glare as his fingers poked and prodded around her wound. She hissed and jerked her leg back as he brought up a small syringe. His hand snaked out and grasped her calf just under the hollow of the back of her knee and he held her steady.

“Easy. It’ll be quick. It’s a miracle you haven’t gotten an infection yet.” He hadn’t given her a moment’s notice more before the syringe was in the thickest part of her thigh and she bared her teeth at him angrily. The woman who held her shifted her hold and tensed her grip.

“Shh, it’s alright. It’s just a bit of medicine; Patch knows what he’s doing.” Antahni soothed near Raasha’s unbroken montral. “You’ll be fine; this is just to help if I jostle you around too much.”

“I’ve survived worse.” Raasha clipped her teeth at Patch as his hand retreated. The trooper snorted and pocketed away the used syringe, leaving no evidence of their stop. He nodded to Antahni and the other woman gently placed her on her foot and fixed her against the wall.

“Be that as it may, there’s no _need_ to make it worse now.” Patch said from over Antahni’s shoulder. “Now for the hard part. You need to stay _here_ , and wait for us.”

“No!” Raasha snarled and nearly came away from the wall in a tumble before Antahni braced a firm hand against her shoulder. She glared at the woman’s visor and then turned her heated green eyes to Patch. “You don’t know where you’re going.”

“We have an updated map with the information, but we can’t drag you into a fire-fight when we don’t know what the head count is, _and_ ,” he held up a finger as Raasha opened her mouth to protest, “neither do _you_ , so here is where you’ll stay. You said it yourself that no one patrols through here.”

“My friend is in there, I can’t – she’d run from you and it will make everything worse.” Raasha explained hurriedly, panic laced in her words. She groaned when Antahni’s hand was immoveable from her shoulder and she changed her tactics, turning instead to the woman with wide eyes.

“Basil’s hurt,” she pleaded quietly, ashamed at betraying her friend. “She’ll hide it. She took a sniper’s bolt to her hip, but she’ll run from you unless you can get her to trust you.”

“We’ll look for her, I promise.” Patch nodded, but tilted his head as Raasha shook hers vehemently.

“No, you don’t understand, Basil’s good, _very good_ , at what she does.” Raasha kept her eyes on the woman’s helmet. Basil would never trust the troopers, even with their safe-word, but a woman? A woman that ran with the troopers had a better shot at bringing her friend to heel than the men did. “She’s – a rogue for hire, she can hide extremely well. You’ll never find her once the chaos starts, and if you do, you’ll be dead before you can get a word in.”

“Then how did she get caught?” Antahni snorted lightly. “If she’s so good at ducking and dodging?”

Raasha hesitated again, heat came up her cheeks. “Because of me. I lost my prosthetic in a fight and she tried to save me, but… got shot. She’s had time to heal. It’ll slow her down, but not as much as it did initially. _Please_.” The final plead was directed toward Antahni, and she prayed the woman would let her come.

“Stay here.” Antahni’s smooth voice reasoned with her. “Basil, you said? What does she look like – Patch, don’t give me that, keep moving forward and scout, I’ll be just a second.” The other trooper sighed and shook his head, but turned on his heel and paced down the ruined hallway, blaster brought up to his shoulder and ready.

Antahni turned back to Raasha, had ever still on her shoulder. “Come on; is there anything that will make her believe me?”

“Yes,” Raasha nodded, defeated and slumped against the wall. This would have to do. “Basil’s five feet solid, heavy-set, brown hair and brown eyes, but she might have those covered. She’ll come at the call of her name, tell her Raa sent you.”

“That’s it, just a nickname?” Antahni clarified, skeptical at the simplicity of it. Raasha chuckled bitterly, shrugging the other shoulder that wasn’t held in Antahni’s grip.

“Your voice will be enough. You’re female; she always has a soft spot for them.” Raasha smiled sadly up at the visor and caught the faint outline of her reflection in the shine of the material. “Please, don’t – I know you have other people to worry about, b-but if you just send her my way, we’ll be out of your hair. _Please_ , I can’t – I owe her so much – I’m not letting her _die_ just because she loved me. That’s not fair.”

The silence was painful; the woman over her stared, frozen for the longest time. Raasha swallowed and shifted, feeling tears start to well up at the corner of her eyes out of desperation. Finally, mercifully, the grip relented and Antahni nodded before she pulled away with a sigh. She pointed a firm finger at Raasha, then at the floor.

“You’re staying. No arguments. If I find your friend, I’ll send her this way and you two get the kriff out of dodge, hear me?” Antahni ordered. Raasha nodded empathically and slid down the wall of the empty hallway gratefully. It was a moment more before Antahni shook her head with an angry jerk and followed after Patch.

Raasha hoped it was going to be enough.


	2. Ricochet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Again, just to make it clear, none of the clone troopers are mine. They belong to Naiku-Haru, visit her Tumblr for them at http://naiku-haru.tumblr.com/tagged/Anooba-squad

“I counted about fifteen. You?” The golden-emblazoned helmet tilted toward the captain, waiting patiently. A beat or so passed before the padded shoulders shifted with a sigh and the captain shook his head wearily.  The building echoed from the passing workers below, the shifting of crates and containers onto freighting ships muffling their movements in the rafters above.

“Twenty. There’s more on the other side of the docking station.” He answered and from the shadow of the overhang, two fingers pointed toward the lit up docking area, workers milling around, unknowingly watched from the shadows of the high beams and struts that crossed along the ceiling in intersecting patterns.

“Damn.” The second one breathed, his weapon settled into his lap as he pulled down his scope to rest over his visor. The green-tinted image fluttered to life and displayed the extra bodies in the distance, crates of supplies obscuring them now and again.

“Mmhm.” The captain answered quietly. “I suspected our intel was going to be off as the mission report had been ambiguous, but this…”

“Yup.” The scope was placed back over his visor and he turned toward his captain. “That means that the others are in the wrong position, too.”

“They’re clever.” The captain firmly stated. “The scouts will figure it out soon enough and accommodate.” He shifted from his hunched placed in the overhang; the durasteel beam under him was sturdy and wide. The shadows smothered them wholly and unless someone looked up and actively searched, they wouldn’t be spotted. Dropping in from the roof had its advantages.

“Think it’s flipped, then? Here’s outgoing, so the west side is most likely incoming. Looks like they’re getting ready to ship out, don’t you think?” The second man asked as he followed his captain, both of them carefully crawling their way further into the durasteel work of the high ceiling.

“Looks about that way, Dulmer.” The captain murmured thoughtfully. “It makes this a bit more difficult if Bullrush and Crossbar are coming in from the south end. That wasn’t the lower warehouse, so their ambush could lead to trouble.”

Dulmer shook his head. “Doubt it, Crossbar is gonna see the collateral damage if they attempted, he’ll keep Bull quiet, but they’ll be sitting dead in the water.” Another few careful steps and he followed his captain down a sloped beam with practiced balance. His boots snagged with their magnetic grip and he steadied himself as he waited for the path to clear.

“The people are here.” The captain griped as he leaned forward with a hand gripped on a support beam over his head. “They’ve got them chained up over on the far northwest side of the storage area, see?” Dulmer shifted closer to his captain and peered out over the bustling hangar, and along the south end of the large room was a set of thick durasteel containers with chained lines of people being fed into them.

“That might mean the primary warehouse is empty, Ace.” Dulmer glanced over to his captain. “So they could be in the clear, and still be a distraction?”

“They’re still too close.” Ace muttered with a shake of his head. “We would need to coordinate a new strategy to make sure we don’t lose more than we should. It’s going to be rough trying to get _our_ men out of here now that we know we’re walking around blind.”

“Then –” Dulmer inhaled sharply and swallowed his words as Ace’s comm-link flared to life with a bright blink. Alarmed, both men shared a sharp jerk of their helmets before Ace pressed the release and waited, not willing to give away their position if the line was fraudulent.

“ **Scouting Party. CT-06-8091. Repeat, scouting party, Romeo-Alpha-Yankee.** ” The voice echoed in the same tone and pitch as theirs, and Dulmer watched as his captain sighed with relief before his body coiled in preparation.

“Copy. CT-0780. Alpha-Charlie-Echo awaiting message.” Ace answered steadily. If Ray had needed to use code, then the mainframe communication wasn’t secured, or he was working on it. He would have to follow his scout’s lead on protocol, unsure of the danger this newest development would bring them.

“ **How do you read?** ” Ray asked patiently.

Dulmer knew there was a grim frown under Ace’s helmet. “Copy, four of five.”

“ **Copy. Staff change. Intel inverted. High risk northeast, east and southeast, open zones northwest, west, southwest, south, over.** ” Ray answered robotically. Dulmer shared another quick glance with his captain and nodded; so they had been right, the layout was flipped. The scouts had figured it out and were endeavoring to redirect. 

“Copy.” Ace breathed with a shake of his head. “Sitrep?”

“ **SNAFU. Forwarding data to all parties on frequency, new outbound coordinates, over.** ” Ray’s voice commanded over the cracking link before Dulmer’s and Ace’s comm-links twittered with the new transmission. Ace kept his line open as Dulmer opened the updated map and he winced with a sigh. He quickly noted the positions of their men as the others received their maps and logged their coordinates.

“Copy. Adjustments?” Ace asked, wondering what his scouts had done to try and rectify their situation. If they had managed to get a message out, then they weren’t too far from the east hangar and had most likely infiltrated the reporting station near the center of the colossal building. There was another crack and shift over the link and the tone changed.

“ **CT-01-4791. Kilo-Echo-Sierra-Hotel. Accommodations made for greeting party, suggested route retreat southwest, reform with supporting party, engage at signaled time, full stop.** ” Kesher’s swift reply had Bullrush and Crossbars points of location blinking in response and anticipating redirecting orders. Kesher continued, “ **Posted sentries at outer northwest and southwest section prepare for oncoming hostiles, over.** ”

“Kriff,” Dulmer muttered under his breath, his gaze flickered over to Denn and Flashpoint’s dots on the new map, furthest from them by the west hangar. It had been the same for Toks and Takeback at the lower southwest end. They weren’t meant to be sentry points, they had been sent in to support transporting the people to safety. What a mess. He and Ace were meant to help Bullrush and Crossbar with distraction, but now it seemed they would have to be the rescuers.

“Copy. Acknowledged suggested adjustments, confirm new orders, over.” Ace answered, trusting that his scouts had assessed the situation appropriately. He couldn’t stand being in the dark, but even with the updated map, it sounded like their scouts were working with solid, confirmed information. It was better than what he had at the moment.  Several signals blinked on the new map with their squad’s acceptance of the new orders and kept the link-traffic to a minimum.

Ace waited as he watched several of the dots move before he asked, “Current status?”

“ **Steady. Last item; rotations randomized, bogey schedule, full stop. Scouting party retreating to west wing and support, over.** ” The link had cracked again and a small amount of white noise had fluttered through the line, but the message was clear. With Bullrush, Crossbar, Antahni and Patch coming their way, they could help remove the people from the hangar. Dulmer and Ace remained open to hostile discovery until they managed to get down toward the entrance and open the way for the four-man team. Ace glanced down at the hangar below them, and then up to Dulmer; Dulmer grinned under his helmet and nodded.

“ **Standby?** ” Kesher asked hesitantly.

“Copy. Over and out.” Ace closed the link and Dulmer shut off his holo-map and waited as Ace collected his thoughts as the new information had been a bit overwhelming. They had walked in blind to the arrangement, but at least with some idea of the setup, they had an improved chance of survival. Ace nodded to himself and waved to Dulmer before he waddled down the beam to an intersection that allowed them to drop down unseen.

Dulmer quietly removed his grappling wire and attached it to perpendicular beam. Once secured, he handed it over to Ace and watched as his captain swiftly plummeted down to ground level before he followed and landed with a small roll and a tug to release the hook of his wire. It rolled back into its place at his belt and Ace scurried along the east edge of wall silently, moving south. Dulmer stayed on his heels, his gaze focused on the surrounding obstacles that now obscured their view of their enemies.

They managed to reach the south wall with no interruption; the concentration of the workers was pooled by the durasteel containers that they were now attempting to seal up. Time was running short; Ace didn’t have the time to spare unlocking the cargo once they were sealed. Ace brought his blaster up to the ready and signaled for his lieutenant to loop around him and head for the hangar doors. Dulmer’s shadow fluttered off from Ace’s shoulder and Ace counted in his head.

His boys would do their duties to the letter. Dulmer signaled from his end as Ace’s mental countdown reached single digits. For a brief moment, he closed his eyes and his internal timer alarmed. Suddenly the speakers overhead blared to life as a siren screamed and the lights of the hangar shifted to red. The workers in the hangar sprang into action with weapons soon in their hands and a handful of the twelve made a hurried march toward the northwest transporting area.

It was all Dulmer needed and the doors flew open.

-

“Well that’s just perfect.” Toks muttered to himself as he trailed behind a jogging Takeback. “How could the information be that skewed?”

“Not sure, but we have to work with what we’ve got now. Come on,” Takeback took a heavy step to the right and barreled around the corner as the sound of blaster-fire echoed down the empty space. Up ahead they could spot two other gold-and-white armored figures, both firing out at hidden figures that scuttled between hallway pillars. Toks slowed and took an immediate hiding place furthest from his team, his sniper rifle hauled out onto his shoulder. Takeback skidded to a stop next to Flashpoint as his brother’s shot clipped the helmet of an overconfident guard.

“Count?” Takeback yanked his blaster out and laid down cover fire as Denn shifted forward from one pillar to another advancing on the unsuspecting guards.

“Eh, eight? Ten? I know _at least_ two are dead – surprised the kriff outta me as they popped out from the side door there, we just got the message from Ray,” Flashpoint jerked his head at an entrance fifty or so meters from their currently held position. “Denn punched one hard enough to snap his neck, and the other I shoved back into the elevator.”

“How is that confirmed, then?” Takeback rolled over to the pillar’s shadow that Denn had vacated and fired another few rounds toward the shadowed figures. Flashpoint chuckled and at Denn’s stiff wave of an arm, he ducked from his cover to follow, Takeback hot on his heels for a new vantage point. There was a low hum behind them and a shot rang out from Toks’ rifle. A bolt cleared straight through a guard’s neck as they neared Denn, giving the prowling trooper another opportunity to push forward.

“Well, _some_ of him went to the bottom floor.” Flashpoint snickered and fired away as Takeback took the lead. Both brothers followed Denn through the chaos, gunning down whatever guard managed to get away from Denn’s path of open destruction. Another rifle shot whistled between Flashpoint and Takeback, narrowly missing Denn’s shoulder as it pierced through two more guards.

“Damn, he keeps doing that, I’m not going to need peroxide for much longer.” Flashpoint muttered with a shake of his head. He turned to Takeback and pointed two fingers toward the elevator door once they were close to it. “Jam that, would you? Don’t want whatever they got crawling around down there to come up from the depths.”

“Don’t tell me you’re scared of that boogie-man shit they were talking about the other day?” Takeback teased as he made his way over to the elevator doors, his blaster steadily firing into the fray. The doors slid open for him and he clipped off a grenade from his belt, priming it before he chucked it down into the dark elevator shaft.

“Right, because a monster under a slave warehouse is the same as one under my bunk-bed. What are you, daft?” Flashpoint turned to look at his brother as the elevator doors were slammed shut and Takeback took a moment to rip off some side paneling to shove it up into the framed crevice of the sliding doors. Flashpoint smirked; it would keep any propelling guards from entering now that the elevator was out of commission.

“Less chatter, more fighting, kiddos.” Toks grumbled over their short-range link. “Denn’s getting a little overwhelmed.”

“What was that?” Denn snapped sarcastically over the line, his armored silhouette rolling down the hallway as he pounced on a guard and brought him into a choke hold. “Who’s overwhelmed?”

“That’s just those two bowls of cookie dough we dared him to eat catching up to him.” Flashpoint laughed and caught a running guard in the back of the head with a well-placed bolt. “I’m surprised he hasn’t burst yet, what with all that rolling he’s doing. He’s practically a pastry now.” Takeback cackled over the line once he was back in cover with a bolt or two fired off to relieve Denn of wayward guard fire.

“Listen, smartass –” Denn growled over the line, but Toks cleared his throat.

“You do realize I could hit all of you from over here for being rowdy, right?” Toks threatened lightly. Another shot flashed by them and struck out a guard’s knee, and then before his body toppled over, his torso was jerked back by a second bolt that slammed into his head.

Flashpoint and Takeback nodded together, tones clipped, “ _Noted._ ” The lights of the hallway blinked out for a second and returned with a flash of red, an alarm howling around them and drowning out the sound of the blaster-fire. Flashpoint sighed dramatically and shrugged his shoulders over at Takeback as Toks followed up from behind them.

“Looks like someone slipped away.” Flashpoint tipped his head toward Denn’s position. “Shouldn’t have had all that cookie dough.”

“I’m kicking your ass _next_ , laserbrain.”

-

The silence of the comm-link was deafening once their captain cut himself from the line. The three troopers glanced between each other and Kesher rallied them with a nod. He lifted his blaster to his chest and turned on his heel to inspect the rest of the room. “They should have some kind of data-cache in here for their operations and shipping arrangements.”

“There’s only vague information on the mainframe.” Ray answered from his chair by the central communication board. He stood and shuffled over to another computer and opened it with a few deft clicks. “While I was encrypting the line for the transmission, I found a program running in the background. It’s sweeping through and clearing out mission-critical data.”

“What for?” Akul stepped forward and looked over his brother’s shoulder. “Were they expecting us?”

Ray shook his covered head. “No, I think… I think they’re going to abandon this facility.”

“Is there anything we can save? It might prove useful.” Kesher took a short look over his shoulder as he scanned over the rest of the operating systems. Ray shook his head and tapped the screen that displayed the running programs.

“Not much. I managed to copy over a few of their other locations, but it seems they only have half of the coordinates. The other half appears to be transmitted to them once they’re in range.” Ray answered as the last of the data was filed away and he swiftly retrieved the disc from the board. “We can relinquish it to the captain for the board to review.”

“Good plan.” Akul nodded his head, “So how about we start heading out –”

“ _Scatter!_ ” Kesher’s shouted warning had given Ray and Akul barely enough time, by the seconds, to drop to their haunches and roll into protective cover. Ray dove by the nearest workstation island and steadied his blaster against the legs of the table as he fired off one, two rounds to cover Akul’s mad dash behind the console. Kesher had disappeared completely. They hadn’t heard the door hiss open, but only Kesher’s eyes had flickered over at the movement.

Akul peeked up over the console before he was immediately forced back down by a shot from the opposing guards. He growled low in his throat and hastily shuffled over toward the other side to be closer to Ray as he hissed into their comms, “Kesher, where are you?”

“Above,” Kesher answered tightly. “There’s four, one covering the door, two moving toward you, and one heading for the security console.”

“Kesher, he can’t sound the alarm, we have to give them time to move!” Ray dodged around to the other side of his cover as a flash-grenade bounced into view. With a rapid snatch, he took the grenade and lobbied it over his cover to the guards.

“I got him. Take the others.” Kesher ordered roughly. The flash-grenade smothered them, startling the guards into a panic. Akul leapt from behind the console and swung a hip around Ray’s island as he drove the butt of his blaster viciously against the jugular of the nearest guard.

Ray turned stiffly from his cover and knelt under the table, firing at the guard’s knees. Two went down and one of them gurgled helplessly as a bolt seared through his chest from Ray’s aim, the second struggled to stand back up through the pain. Akul snagged his blaster-butted guard from the bottom edge of his coat and promptly yanked it over the man’s head, turning him, and shoving him toward the guard that tried to stand.

“Ray!” Akul raised his blaster within seconds and fired a few bolts to his tripping opponents; one’s head was gone by the time the second round of shots was fired from Ray’s end. The man at the door hastily retreated and Akul gave chase, breathless.

“Oh no you don’t,” Akul growled. He shouldered his way through the door before it slammed shut, focused anger brought his arm up and he shoved it against the lip of the durasteel and it shuddered against his armor, weakened by the bolts that missed their marks. The guard was already halfway down the hall that split into the east and west hallways. He raised his blaster, inhaled tightly, and fired a quick series of four or five rounds. The body tumbled in a meaty heap and the momentum had it skid a meter or so forward.

The struggle inside the reporting station behind him drew his attention back. As he turned back inside, a bolt went wide of its mark and he ducked to the floor, looking up to spy Ray and Kesher smacking away at the security console. The wayward bolt had come from the guard’s rifle as he dropped from a twisted and broken neck.

Akul stood and hastened over to his brothers, blinking over their shoulders. “What, what is it?”

“It’s a security sequence, rigged to set off the alarm and close all entry points.” Ray muttered darkly as he worked furiously over the console, his helmet snapping on occasion to check the lines of code as they flew past. “He didn’t need much time; he only had to press a badge with a chip in it to activate it. He overrode the dampening code I encrypted to keep the alarms silenced.”

“I wasn’t fast enough,” Kesher growled as he worked alongside Ray from a different screen.

“Not the point right now, Kesher.” Akul snapped at him and shifted to come around on his other side, allowing Ray to jump between consoles with ease. “If the systems going on lockdown, that means we’re trapped in here with them? What about the people?”

“Exactly.” Kesher’s visor jerked toward Akul, chin tipped irately. “Ray wasn’t wrong; they’re abandoning the facility and getting rid of witnesses.”

“What, did they set up bombs? That’s classic.” Akul snorted, watching both troopers work.

Ray shook his head, “No, that would have been easy, because you have to rig bombs with a fuse to blow. They don’t have that, they can’t have someone come investigating something as noticeable as a blast-zone...” Ray sighed and glanced over at Akul, “They’re going to gas the place. We’ll be fine; we have the filters, but…”

“The hostages will suffocate.” Kesher finished. “The systems are already shutting down, there’s a scrambler, and we can’t open the line back up to –” The console under their fingers gave a loud, long mechanical groan and the screens faded. It was seconds later that the system flashed back to life and the screen turned blue with emergency code trailing across it rapidly. The facility’s sirens blared soon after. Kesher cursed and cracked his knuckles against the console before turning and hauling Ray away from the useless screen.

“No time, we’re heading out.” Kesher barked. Akul and Ray filed in behind him as they ran out the battered door and down the hallway to the intersection. Kesher stopped and pointed to Akul’s chest, then signaled down the east hallway. “Start running, make sure to get the path cleared and bomb the front entrance in case we need a backup plan. Find the Captain and the others in the east hangar and update them.” 

“You’re leaving to warn the others on the west side, right?” Akul started to jog backwards, his visor still on Kesher and Ray behind him. Kesher nod and Ray stiffened his shoulders, blaster steady at his hip.

“Affirmative. We have _some_ time; forty minutes before whatever they’ve filtered from their tanks below reach us up here. Now, _go!_ ” Akul nodded with a tense neck and pivoted on his heel before sprinting down the hallway at full speed, his brothers doing the same in the opposite direction.

The hallway broke into tangled matter around him. Along the walls the panels of durasteel were ripped from explosions, wires exposed and dangling and the floor blackened and crated by a previous battle. The Togruta hadn’t been lying when she said she went down with a fight. He blinked under the visor of his helmet as a familiar sight appeared before him, his feet nearly tripping as he raced toward her limping figure.

“Raasha?” Akul asked in alarm. The hollowed face of the Togruta female looked up at him and her only knee shook. Akul inhaled and took one last sprint forward to catch her as her knee buckled and she fell. He exhaled painfully as she crashed against him, her arms wrapped around his neck and her body shuddering in his hold, sweat beaded along her forehead, cheeks, and shoulders. He kept his arms around her waist and hauled her up to support her weight at his hip.

“The alarm, what’s happening?” She asked in a rush, her body leaned away from his torso and her slender hands came to either side of his helmet, green eyes wide with worry. Akul shook his head, swallowing as he bent to lift her fully into his arms and continue his run. She hiccupped in surprise, but didn’t protest and secured her arms around his neck once more.

“A guard slipped past us,” Akul muttered as he ran, “Triggered a building wide security protocol. We’re being gassed and we need to leave in the next thirty minutes.” There was no reason to tell her, he didn’t want her to panic, but she had been honest with them so far. That, and anger boiled through his chest at the thought that she had been left in the hallway on her lonesome.

“Take the next left and head up to the hangar, they have an emergency exit big enough for the amount of people we need to have evacuated.” Raasha’s murmured just loud enough to him and pointed down the hallway. “You’ll see it once you’re in there.“Raasha, what were you doing in the hallway?” He blurted once he took the turn in two long strides and continued his dash to the east hangar. Her fingers came and laced themselves together at the back of his neck and sent a shudder at the foreign touch down his back, quickening his pace.

“Your Antahni left me there for my safety. I don’t suspect any of us expected the security to go off.” Her green eyes glanced at him through his visor and he gritted his teeth, feeling like a fool. Was she blaming them for the slip-up? Or questioning him on the reason it happened? He sighed sharply through his nose and shook his head over her arms.

“Neither did we, we thought we disabled it before entering. One of the guards had an override we didn’t know about, just like everything else in this kriffin –”

“Shh,” Raasha’s hand slipped away from the grip of her other one and rested at the space between his helmet and start of his shoulders. “Funnel the anger if you have to, but don’t let it explode.” She smiled at him under the tip of his visor’s opening. “You still have to get me out in one piece, remember? Let’s try for one good thing today.”

He snorted with a bitter laugh, but agreed with a jerky nod.

-

“There they are.” Patch waved an arm at his side to Antahni and pointed to the crouching figures of Bullrush and Crossbar by the end of the hallway. Both men popped their heads up as Antahni and Patch approached and lowered their weapons down by their hips.

“So what’s all this about a mess up?” Bullrush grunted from his seat against the wall. He stood with his armor scraping up along the durasteel panel, matching his irritation. Crossbar glanced from his companion to the other two, head tilted and patient.

“Kesher and his team found a Togruta prisoner with information on the facility, that’s the reason for the change of plans.” Patch answered and lifted his comm-link to his brothers and Antahni, the synchronization finished in an instant and their links connected for the short range under the new team configuration.

“They’re trusting the alien?” Bullrush growled as Patch walked past them and led the way toward the primary warehouse and east hangar. Patch nodded his head and started the jog through the cleared space, his shoulders hunched and tight with the suspiciously empty area.

“Well, I’m sure they share notes with her in her cramped cage.” Antahni answered from behind them with a snort. “She even gave them a quick plan of action with an accurate recall of the map without it open to view, so unless they let her walk around with a missing leg...”

“She could be a spy.” Bullrush muttered to Crossbar and glanced between Patch and Antahni. “Did they question her?”

“She was a prisoner. Malnourished, wounded, and _disabled_. This group of slavers is known for their speedy deliveries and disappearances. She bites, but I doubt hard enough to be of any use to them.” Patch listed his information with a gruff exhale. “If Kesher was willing to trust her intel, I don’t think we’re in a position to question it.”

“The kriff I ain’t.” Bullrush answered, teeth gritted. “She could be leading us into a trap.”

“Then when we get to this warehouse, it should be empty and clear if she’s lying.” Antahni replied coolly, nudging Bullrush’s shoulder as she matched his trotting pace. “She was the one that told us the slaves are being moved for shipment, and if the map _isn’t_ flipped…”

“Then they should be over by the west hangar, not the east one.” Crossbar finished with a sigh. “Copy. We’ll have room to doubt her loyalties later once we’re clean and clear of this place.”

“Agreed, so drop it, Bull.” Patch ordered over his shoulder. The trooper snorted harshly and quietened as they arrived at the double-wide durasteel doors. Patch shifted toward the control panel as Bullrush took front point behind the door’s frame, Crossbar matched him a pillar behind, and Antahni moved to cover Patch as he worked, facing down the hallway they just ran through.

“A bit empty, don’t you think?” Crossbar threw the question to Antahni as the woman kept her gaze focused on their defense. She paused and shrugged her shoulder lightly.

“You heard Kesher. Randomized patrols, probably a skeleton crew now if they’re shipping out.” She hesitated with a thoughtful tip of her chin and fingered the trigger of her blaster as the butt rested against her shoulder securely. “This facility’s been getting a lot of traffic lately; they might be looking to abandoned ship with all this unwanted attention.”

“We’re in, cut the chatter.” Patch warned them at the door. Antahni waited until she heard the hiss of the door before she passed one more scan over the area and retreated with the men into the warehouse. Inside, the chilled air washed over her and dragged a shiver up her spine as she glanced up at the high ceiling before turning around toward her squad-mates as the doors closed at her heels. There were cages that were only a few meters high and wide enough to fit a standing clone, and inside them were slumbering bodies.

Patch hurried to the closest cage past a few empty ones and knelt close to a prisoner, reaching out for a quick scan. “No shields on the cages. This one’s weak, same… same signs as the Togruta. Kriff, starve them so they don’t fight.” Patch glanced up and stood to his full height as he counted through the cages.

“Some of them are already moved to the hangar.” Crossbar murmured as he traced Patch’s line of sight. “Might be doing them in batches to keep the traffic low.”

“No one likes packed meat in cans, anyway.” Antahni muttered. Patch shot her a look over his shoulder as he walked past her and she inclined her head, grinning under her helmet. “What do we do with these sorry saps, then? Leave ‘em?”

“No. There’s only a cage or two left of the full ten, so we can escort them out once the coast is clear.” Patch nodded toward the hangar door. “Our priority right now is getting to the Captain and making sure it happens that way. They’re sedated; they’d be more trouble than helpful at the moment.”

Bull’s smirk colored his words, “Definitely packed meat.”

“Enough. They’re still living, have a bit of respect.” Patch snorted and patted Crossbar’s chest, pointing toward the east hangar door. “Let’s get in position, we’re about to be the cleanup crew to a wild fight. Bullrush, front and center, the lieutenant is going to want you to clear the way.”

“Aye, aye.” Bullrush spared a look at Antahni, but the woman was distracted as they walked away toward the entrance out to the docking area. She hesitated and glanced to the backs of the retreating men. Instead, Antahni took to a heel and hustled along the line of cages with a searching gaze. Though two of them still contained people, none of them matched the description of Raasha’s girl.

Antahni stopped and felt a tingle go up the back of her neck and into the base of her skull. Her knees locked and at the fourth cage, she tipped her head up. The room was lit well enough to work in, but the copper walls swallowed most of the light with their deep coloring. Antahni would have missed her if she hadn’t shifted. A woman sat at the edge of a long cage, short legs crossed and leading into deeply curved hips before the torso curled up into folded arms and a blank, heart-shaped face. She still wore the prisoner garb of honey-colored, single layered fabric.

It didn’t hide much, at least not for this tiny thing.

“Well, at least you got to my face.” The woman teased with a full smirk. A leg bounced over a knee and her torso shifted to reveal a make-shift weapon in her hands, chains linked together from the end of a shock-baton. Antahni blinked, briefly alarmed and surprised at the ingenuity of the weapon before her visor snapped back up to the woman’s dark eyes.

“Basil, was it?” Antahni asked lowly. The reaction was instantaneous. Basil’s languid body went stiff as a board and her gaze narrowed as the smirk slowly slipped from her mouth. Antahni grinned under her helmet, “Had I known the damsel was on this side of the castle, I would have gotten here first.”

“Is that so?” A darkened curiosity colored the other woman’s words, a murmur as she mulled over her information. Antahni’s grin could only grow, knowing the woman pondered over the pitch of her voice and tried to mesh it with the clone armor she wore. Perhaps that was the reason for the surprise instead of being flirted with; she had been expecting a man.  

“You want to jump down from there? I’m more than happy to catch.” Antahni couldn’t keep the humor from her voice, inordinately pleased at having the upper hand over this woman. If she had been as any good as Raasha had said; being left in the dark over a clone-armored soldier with what could possibly be a woman’s deep voice would annoy her intensely. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before a scowl took the smaller woman’s face.

“I have no doubt you would be, but trouble is,” Basil’s expression shifted again, assessment apparently finished as the smirk smoothed over her full lips again, “I’ve never gone to confession in my life, so a leap of faith wouldn’t necessarily benefit me.” Antahni was fully tempted to remove her helmet to waggle her eyebrows at the woman for being a sinner, but it would spoil the moment.

“I don’t think it’d be so bad taking a chance on me,” Antahni retorted easily, a double meaning hidden to the oblivious, but she could see the woman’s dark eyes glint with renewed curiosity and a giddiness curled in Antahni’s gut, “But Raa would prefer it if I got you out of here first.”

Something softened and seemed to change the shape of the woman above her, melting Basil’s stiffness from the durasteel spine she sported. It was only a fraction of a second, but it was enough for Antahni to notice. Basil cleared her throat, words thick, “She’s alive, then?”

“And feisty as ever if her attitude is anything to go by.” Antahni replied with a chuckle. “She asked that I make sure you were alive and well, and to send you her way, though I gotta admit; second part of the job is a bit harder.”

The smirk was back and Antahni began to enjoy the sight of it. “Ah, and here I thought you were distracting me with that sultry voice so I wouldn’t jump into the fray of the fight.”

“Is it working?” Antahni teased and inclined her helmet toward the smaller women. “Because I would not be opposed to the distraction.” It was rewarding to see Basil’s smirk slip to something softer, an amused tilt of her lips in a not-quite-a-smile. The smaller woman freed her legs from being hooked at her knees and uncrossed her arms as she leaned forward, palms braced at the edge of the cage.

“It might be.” Basil rewarded her with another half-smile. “Are you going to help me down or not?”

“ _Yes_ , ma’am,” Antahni took two quick strides over and shouldered her weapon before she raised her arms out for the smaller woman. Basil wrapped her shock-baton whip around her pale throat and shifted her hips forward before she dropped wholly into Antahni’s awaiting arms. Antahni blinked in surprise, the size of Basil came into stark realization as the physical aspect of being only five feet tall was brought forcibly to the forefront.

“You can put me down, trooper.” Basil chuckled low with a tap under Antahni’s helmet at her chin. Antahni did so with a bit of a breathless chuckle and watched as the vixen removed the length of the chain-linked whip from around her neck and stepped away from Antahni as she did.

“You could be one hell of a distraction.” Antahni muttered amusedly. Basil smirked and flashed Antahni a look that made her mouth run dry with an inhale, her gaze drifted down to the curve of the other woman’s hips for just a moment before focusing back up on the heart-shaped face.

“I sincerely hope you’re female under all that armor, otherwise you’re going to be sorely disappointed.” Basil warned her briefly, the smirk light and teasing. Antahni inhaled to catch her breath, but the blare of the security alarm over them came with a startling abruptness. The blaster was back in her hands instinctively, but Antahni cursed as Basil took off in a dash toward the east hangar entrance.

“Raasha’s the other way!” Antahni warned her, coming up faster behind Basil with her longer legs. The men had already tumbled through the door way, blasters firing into the chaos. Antahni reached out and snagged the smaller woman’s arm before she disappeared into the fray behind the door and hauled her back away from the rapid fire battle. “Get out through the south entrance, Raasha’s in the east hallway –”

“She’s not there anymore; she wasn’t there the minute you took your eyes off her.” Basil retorted swiftly, shaking Antahni’s hand off and deftly reaching over to Antahni’s hip, liberating her of her secondary pistol. The woman was barely fast enough to get past Antahni’s reflexive jerk to stop her, and Basil took the opportunity to skitter away with the gun. “Get your men out of here, I’ll handle myself just fine, trooper.”

“No, wait –” Antahni hurried forward, her arm outstretched to snag Basil again, but through the door and into the shadow of a sentry overpass, the woman was gone. Antahni stuttered, shocked at the sudden disappearance. Perhaps Raasha was not so wrong in boasting of her friend’s abilities. With a growl, Antahni raised her gun and sighted her gaze to her companions, Bullrush already far into the middle of the fight.

She came up beside an overturned container, Crossbar laying down a spray of cover-fire as Dulmer and Ace advanced from their distant position on the far east-side. Antahni kept her eyes open for the other woman in the fire-fight in the hopes of dragging her back out the door and to safety. The floor of the hangar was a mangled show of force; workers were split between them and the northeast door that was being bombarded by an approaching sentry team of Takeback and his brothers.

Once Ace and Dulmer were within range, Ace slipped around to Crossbar’s side with Dulmer coming down the other and nestling in next to Antahni. She automatically switched from her pistol to the sniper rifle and at Ace’s signal, popped over the container and sprinted toward advance cover. Dulmer followed behind as Ace and Crossbar split around the other side to flank the retreating workers. Bullrush’s mini-gun roared as he passed it over the surrounding cover for the workers, littering all of it with holes and forcing them out into the open. Sniper fire came from behind them, pinning a few down and others were obliterated by Toks sharp aim.

Not to be out-marked, Tahni set the rifle to her shoulder and inhaled. Dulmer touched her shoulder briefly and in a flash, rolled out under the muzzle of her gun and she fired four rapid shots, clearing the heads of approaching workers and allowing Dulmer space to charge forward, his pistol momentarily unnecessary. There was a sharp beep from the emergency line on her comm-link and Antahni growled as she slapped a palm against it hurriedly, not wanting to miss more shots from the distraction.

“ **Akul. FUBAR, squad. Guard override on security system, secondary protocol was initiated.** ” Akul’s breathless voice shook over the short-ranged transmitter. There was a hiccup of static with an angry buzz as interference gnawed at the message, “ **–  ombs, I repeat, no bombs. Detonation meant for chemical release into ventilation system. Twenty-five minutes and counting until released, over.** ”

“ **Copy,** ” Ace’s voice traveled over the comm-link steadily, his blaster’s bolts echoing in the background from the far end of the docking area. “ **New priority, civilian protection detail, round up remaining hostiles and eliminate. Countdown twenty-four minutes, over.** ” A harsh series of acknowledgments echoed down the line as the squad accepted their new orders. Antahni moved forward and two more shots rang out, crippling a few runners as they attempted to swing around Bullrush and Dulmer.

“ **Akul,** ” Patch’s voice barked over the line, “ **Civvies in primary warehouse before east hangar, escort them out, over.** ”

“ **Copy, already on it. Escaping through east wing to front entrance, will evac a hundred meters out of danger-zone, over.** ” Something ate at the back of Antahni’s mind with Akul’s response. Basil had stated that Raasha would have been gone the moment she was out of sight. She swallowed and shadowed her way around to flank against the wall and provide cover for Dulmer and a newly arrived Denn.

“ **Akul, you came up the east wing? Over.** ” Antahni asked gruffly as she was forced to duck and roll away, several feet back from where she had been as a short-fused mine slid her way.

“ ** _Copy._ Don’t even get me started, Antahni. _Yes_ , I have her, out.**” The line cut short and Antahni sighed, relieved even if the clone was bitter with her. She could understand his ire, but the girl was safe and that made her job just the smallest bit easier. Now, she would only need to get out of this fight and herd Basil out with the rest of the civilians.

Or she could just take an incoming missile to the face.


End file.
